


Rock, Paper, Scissors

by lameassthiam



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: I Watched Too Much Grey's Anatomy, M/M, So cut him some slack, but he's been in the hospital for a while, doctor! Theo, liam is a whiny little bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-24 00:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14344035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lameassthiam/pseuds/lameassthiam
Summary: Theo is Liam's doctor after he gets into quite the awful accident during lacrosse season. Over the time that Liam is wasting away in a hospital bed with only How I Met Your Mother reruns and company from his best friend, Theo begins to visit Liam on the daily. They become fast friends and see each other every day. And then one day Theo has some news, some pretty big news.He's adopting a five year old girl.





	1. Liam / Temporary Custody

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SweetPoisonedHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetPoisonedHeart/gifts).



> hellooooo it's me corri :)
> 
> so i wrote this in february as i was going through a really intense grey's anatomy phase. this was how i coped. 
> 
> i'm also gifting this to Kari because this was the first fic i ever shared with her and since then she's put up with my moaning and groaning and she's just such an amazing friend and perosn and ahjkeussjndw

Liam was sat up in the hospital bed, eyes on the ticking hands of the clock mounted on the wall. The little hand slid past 12:44, chugging toward 12:45. If it was 12:45 then Liam was officially being stood up. In the hostile environment that his room provided, he narrowed his eyes as the little hand paused at the 45 and went right along to 46. Put it on record: Liam Dunbar was being stood up by someone who wasn't even his date. So he plucked his phone off the table attached to his bed, unlocked it, and went to his texts with his best friend, Mason. 

**Liam: I’m being stood up.**

**Mason: Aww, Dr. Hottie is a no-show?**

**Liam: Like I said, stood up**

**Mason: Want me to swing by? I'm out with Corey, we could bring cookies?**

He was just about to respond with a firm yes, and could they please get him oatmeal raisin, when a frazzled looking doctor burst through his door. 

“Doctor Raeken, you're late,” Liam deadpanned, frowning at his doctor’s back. The man placed a white paper bag on the edge of Liam’s bed, right within reach of his fingertips. Doctor Theo Raeken, an orthopedic fellow, looked like a mess. His usually brushed back hair was messy and fluffy, his green eyes shone with tiredness, he smelt, and Liam suspected there were minuscule blood stains on his dark blue scrubs. The white doctor's coat he wore over his scrubs looked alright, aside from how it looked like he'd thrown it on as if he was 5. Theo was out of breath and panting, a coffee cup in his hand as he took a seat at the foot of Liam's bed. 

“I know, Liam, but there was a major car crash on the highway last night and the E.R. was slammed,” Theo said with a sigh, running his free hand through his hair, messing it up more. Liam frowned at him while he picked up the white bag and finagled the blueberry muffin from it. His frown quickly flipped up into a smile, realizing Theo remembered his favorite. Their lunchtime thing has been going on for a whole week now. Theo comes in every day at noon (unless he's in surgery) and sits at the foot of Liam’s bed, talking with him about everything. 

“Save any lives?” Liam asked hopefully, picking at the muffin with his good hand and putting little pieces in his mouth. Theo’s expression softened. 

“More or less,” he said. “One girl, about five years old. Her mom didn't make it and she's got no living family, or anyone cited as a guardian- oh god, I'm rambling,” Theo blushed, hiding a bashful smile by sipping his coffee. 

“It's okay,” Liam reassured him, poking the doctor on the shoulder. “Tell me more.” 

Liam’s whole life changed two weeks ago when he got into it with another player at a lacrosse game. As the star player in his senior year of college, Liam was feeling overly confident that game and had stupidly bodychecked a guy twice his size. Although an amazing player, Liam wasn't the tallest guy out there. The opposing player clearly didn't like Liam’s attempt to knock him down and had responded in the same way next play. He let his anger get the best of him and before he knew it, Liam had been knocked unconscious with a concussion, an arm broken in three places, sprained ankle, and blunt trauma to the chest causing cardiac tamponade. Needless to say, Liam had spent the past two weeks in and out of surgery and consciousness. When he'd woken up after his first surgery (the draining of fluid around his heart) Theo had been the first face he'd seen. It had been the middle of the night, well past visiting hours but Liam’s best friend had been slumped in the uncomfortable chair adjacent to Liam’s bed, dead asleep. But Liam hadn't noticed that at first, he'd been too focused on the attractive doctor leaning against the door frame. Theo was the doctor responsible for fixing his arm, ensuring that one day he'd be able to play lacrosse again. Liam was thankful to Theo, he'd given him the ability to play again which was practically saving his life. 

Theo would stop by daily, checking on him post-op even though an intern had come by earlier. Theo’s visits had become so integrated into Liam’s daily schedule (which admittedly wasn't interesting) that the one day Theo had a surgery, Liam had started to get a little crazy. The unspoken commitment to lunch at 12 was the highlight of Liam’s boring day. His best friend, Mason, was always bringing his boyfriend Corey along; as much as he liked Corey, he just wanted a little time with his best friend. His mom, although the best woman in the world, had become way too overbearing, constantly peppering Theo with questions about Liam’s condition. His step-dad was the chief of surgery at this very hospital and had granted Liam with appropriate visits.  And his girlfriend (well ex now) had dumped him the morning after his first surgery. So Liam was drowning in his life and Theo was a rope floating down into the water, just waiting for him to grab on to be pulled to safety. 

Now, Theo was sitting in front of him, going off about this girl’s parents he’d operated on today. He was using doctor speak, something he often did when recounting a patient story to Liam. Somehow after the surgery, Theo had gotten put on babysitting duties for their little girl. He talked about how he'd taken her to play soccer in the parking lot, sat with her overnight while her parents were still in the O.R. He seemed so alive when he spoke about this girl though, the painter’s palette of green that was his eyes were bright and awake. 

“Anyway, I talked to the social worker and she's putting in a request for temporary custody pending pull adoption as we speak,” Theo said, immediately washing his words down with coffee. Liam nearly choked on a baked blueberry. 

“The social worker is doing  _ what? _ ” He asked around a mouthful of muffin, little crumbs spilling out of his mouth. Theo chuckled at him, sticking his hand out and wiping at the crumbs on the corner of Liam's mouth. 

“Essentially, I’m applying to be a dad,” Theo said, gaze locked with Liam’s. Liam who had so so many questions. Are you even ready to be a dad? Were you planning on adopting soon? At what point in your day did you think: I’m going to adopt this orphaned five-year-old? Does this kid even like you?  _ Well, duh, of course, she likes him, everybody likes Theo.  _

“What?” Instead of asking any of his intelligent and thoughtful questions, Liam is only able to get out four letters. 

“If all goes well, I should be approved to take custody of her tonight. In the meantime, there's a lot of legal stuff that has to happen, but the social worker says I'm a good candidate,” Theo smiled as he spoke, clearly enhanced by the idea of adopting this little girl. Liam still had so many questions, but was it really his place to ask them? Sure, Doctor Raeken was sort of his friend but first and foremost, he was his doctor. Besides, any questions implying any incapability to adopt and raise a child would  _ crush _ Theo. And Liam had yet to see him smile this much. 

“What's her name?” 

“Luna. Maybe I can bring her with me for my nighttime visit,” Theo grinned, causing Liam to blush. “Enough about me and my big dreams. How are you? How's the arm?” 

Liam sighed, “broken and itchy.” Theo frowned at his words, the expression deepening while he watched Liam struggle to finish his food with his good hand. Abruptly, Liam saw Theo’s arm stick out and grab the remainder of his muffin, breaking off a piece and presenting it a millimeter away from Liam’s lips. Hesitantly and with a glare, Liam accepted the not-so-forceful force-feeding, grumbling a “thanks”. 

“Still rejecting help from everybody?” Theo asked with a smirk. Liam’s glare got more fierce and he might have or might not have growled a little bit. “Stand down, little wolf. We’re only here to help you. Now, I hear you’re refusing to go to physical therapy, why?” 

“Uh, because it's stupid and I don't need to go,” Liam said, frowning as Theo continued to feed him. He accepted the help, though. Doctor Raeken was possibly the only person in the hospital that Liam had yet to throw a hissy at. 

“If something is so stupid and unnecessary, why is it such a crucial part of you playing lacrosse again?” Theo countered, a knowing smirk decorating his face. Oh, that lovely and adorable, yet tired face. Liam would deny it if asked, as he wasn’t sure about his sexuality,  but Theo was a recurring character in Liam’s dreams ever since his admittance. His mind had dreamt up every situation imaginable: fluffy and happy times with Theo, fighting times with Theo, and sexy times with Theo. The last one was Liam’s personal favorite, but he could do without the embarrassment of a nurse waking him up and telling him he had been screaming Theo’s name out in his sleep. Yeah, that had been awkward. Luckily, Liam’s shame had been enough to ignite compassion in the nurse who swore to  _ never _ tell Theo. 

“Doctor Raeken, has anyone ever told you that you're an asshole?” Liam asked in the most innocent voice he could muster. Theo scoffed, 

“Yeah, my interns. They’re imbeciles, though, their opinions don't matter.”

“What's the latest on them? Who fucked up the worst?” Liam laughed as Theo groaned, puffs of annoyed laughter escaping his mouth. Theo had four interns (Josh, Tracy, Gabe, and Donovan) and he hated all of them. With a burning passion that was shown in how poorly Theo treated them. He wasn't the only one who did that, most of the superior surgeons and doctors didn't think much of their interns. However, Theo's interns seemed to be intelligent so maybe the tough love method was working. That didn't stop him from hating them. 

“Tracy is one more pointless question away from me breaking her bones and paralyzingly her. I may electrify Josh if he asks me if he can scrub in again. Gabe is just  _ terrible _ at patient care and gets too excited by others misfortunes. And Donovan is just such a douche,” Theo spilled, his words rushed and aggravated. He sighed regretfully after, turning to Liam with a slight frown. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that. They're just driving me crazy.” 

“Who am I gonna repeat that to, hmm?” Liam teased, shifting in bed so he could put a reassuring hand on Theo’s shoulder. “The night shift nurse? Mason and Corey?”

“Linda says she has shit on you and I don't need her to have shit on me either. I’d also bet everything in my wallet that you tell Mason everything and Mason tells Corey everything,” Theo pointed out, biting his lip in subdued nerves. 

“How much is in your wallet?” 

“A buck seventy-five.” 

“ _ How _ are you adopting a child?” Liam asked in bewilderment. Theo laughed, about to answer when his pager beeped. He grinned, ignoring it and keeping his gaze trained on Liam. 

“... Don't you have to get that?” Liam spoke slowly and over the beeps of the pager. 

“I’m sure one of my idiots just can't remember how to start sutures,” Theo said dismissively. “What were we talking about? Mason and Corey?” 

“They tell each other  _ everything _ and then Mason tells  _ me _ everything. Everything meaning every fucking thing. Fucking meaning-” Liam coughed, “fucking.” 

“Oh?” Theo said, his startled tone turning his words into a question. “That is real unfortunate for you. Hey, have you heard from your girlfriend?” Theo asked, actively ignoring his pager which was still going off. Theo had been there when Liam’s ex (Hayden) had dumped him in less than 60 seconds then promptly walked out. Not without stiffly placing a cheap flower bouquet down on the chair near the door. In Liam's opinion, the pity flowers should be mentioned; it's just cold. 

“She's still my ex, and no, I haven't heard from her. Truthfully, I don't want to.” Hayden had dumped him because she “just wasn't feeling it anymore.” But Liam knew the truth- she hadn't liked seeing his angry outburst. That's how it had been with every girl he'd ever dated. It was all going fine until he had an episode, they got scared and refused to try to understand that  _ no _ he couldn't help his IED. He took the meds sporadically, but no twenty four year old wants to be taking an antipsychotic. Besides, he felt like the meds made him even  _ more _ angry than usual and for that, he seldom took them. 

“Are you still upset or have you moved past it by now? You seemed to be very invested in watching How I Met Your Mother lately,” Theo joked, his pager still beeping. 

“In my defense, it's a great show,” Liam said. “Doctor Raeken, you should really get that.” 

“No, Li, it's fi-” 

“ _ Doctor Theodore Raeken, please report to the Pediatric wing. Doctor Theodore Raeken, please report to the Pediatric wing. _ ” The overhead call cut Theo off, disturbing Liam’s reaction to Theo calling him Li. 

“Maybe I do have to go?” Theo wondered, blushing as if it wasn't obvious. Theo stood from his spot on Liam’s bed, grabbed the paper bag that had held the muffin in his coffee-less hand and was about to say goodbye when one his interns came running into the room. 

“Tracy, I swear to god if you're coming to tell me you lost somebody's CT scans again, I will kill you,” Theo seethed, not turning to look at her but keeping his eyes on Liam's. Liam gave him a small smile while biting his lip to hold back his laughter. When Theo saw that, his angry expression dropped and he grinned back at Liam. 

“No, no, the social worker working with Luna-”

“Say no more, go be useful.” Without another word to Tracy, Theo rushed over Liam’s side, kissed his cheek, then ran out of the room. Frozen in place (literally and figuratively as he  _ was _ kinda bound to his hospital bed) Liam blinked, hand coming up to where Theo’s lips had been. Tracy coughed from the door, and Liam glared at her hard enough to send her packing. Had Theo really just… kissed his cheek? Deliberately, albeit hastily, put his lips on Liam’s skin and then just… left? What in the hell was going on? From beside him, Liam’s phone buzzed again with a text from Mason. 

**Mason: Judging by how you never responded, you weren't stood up for your date after all?**

**Liam: It wasn't a date and you're right**

**Mason: You're basically dating Dr. Hottie. Don't deny it**

**Liam: Actually, something weird just happened. Can you come by?**

Mason responded with an enthusiastic uppercase  **YES** complete with the fireworks screen provided by iMessage. Liam loved Mason but sometimes that kid went way too overboard. He was a smartie pants, though, and he was the perfect person to talk about your issues with. Especially if your issues involved you having a crush on your twenty nine-year-old doctor who's planning to adopt and hopefully wanting the feelings to be reciprocated. So yeah, Mason was perfect for this. 

 


	2. Theo / Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what!! the!! fuck!! is!! this!! 
> 
> however Luna is in this and that kid is wicked awesome

Theo sprinted down the hallway, headed toward peds, idiotic intern number 2 behind him. 

“Doctor Raeken! Doctor Raeken!” Tracy called after him, clearly demonstrating she, in fact, cannot take simple orders. 

“How is chasing me down a corridor being useful?” Theo shouted over his shoulder, hanging a left and almost running into a nurse. Tracy had the same issue of almost plowing someone however she full on hit the woman, evidently slowing her down and allowing Theo to make a clean break. He really wonders how his interns can be so incompetent. Good surgeons in training, though, that was for sure. Their ability to follow orders or run through hallways at full speed without sending saline bags everywhere could be  _ vastly  _ improved. Theo spotted the elevator doors at the end of the hall, praying whoever was in it saw him so he didn’t have to yell like a maniac. Thankfully, it was Doctor Lydia Martin, the neurosurgery attending. Lydia was a doll, beyond the definition of smart and married to Theo’s sort of friend, more like enemy Stiles, a local detective. Lydia and Theo got along just fine, and she was the exact type to worry about Theo getting into as much trouble as she’d seen him in during his intern year. But now she watched, second-hand-embarrassment in her eyes as Theo all but slid into the elevator, his white Chuck Taylor’s making an ugly squeaking on the floor of the elevator. 

“Good afternoon, Theodore,” she greeted him with a curt nod and a polite smile on her face.  “What floor are you going to?”

“Pediatric,” he said, straightening his doctor’s coat and catching his breath. 

“Ah, me too, I’ve got a consult on a little boy with epilepsy,” Lydia told him. “How are you today? How’s Dunbar?” Almost every nurse, resident, intern, or attending knew about Theo’s bond with the college lacrosse star in room 3411, and they teased him  _ relentlessly _ about his crush. Well, it wasn’t a crush. He was turning thirty in the fall, could he  _ really _ have crushes anymore? Liam just happened to be a different case, a different  _ younger _ case. Liam had taken a two-year gap between high school and college, teaching English to little kids in third-world countries, and it landed him two years older than most college seniors. Theo was okay with it, he was, the age gap wasn’t even that bad. But the stupid  _ teasing _ from his colleagues had to end. 

“He’s good, I just saw him actually. Also, I’m adopting a five-year-old,” Theo spoke proudly, yet he still winced at the shriek Lydia let out. It was a good shriek, though, an excited one. Lydia screamed a lot so you had to learn to differentiate between good and bad quickly.

“Oh my god, Theodore!” Lydia gushed, pulling him into a sudden hug. He stiffened at the touch, his body had no clue what to do.  _ It’s just Lydia, you’ve known her for years _ , for once, his mind chose to soothe him. “What’s her name? What’s her story? Tell me everything, let’s walk and talk!” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing the soft and comforting atmosphere of the pediatric floor. 

“Her name is Luna, a cute little biracial girl. She and her mom were in that car crash, and she took a liking to me, but I fell in love with her from the start. When the social worker started talking about how her only option was foster care, I told her I'd adopt Luna,” Theo detailed the story in short as he and Lydia walked down the hallway, headed in the same direction. Guess the epileptic boy and Luna were next to one another? 

“When did this take place?” Lydia asked, slowing her pace and adjusting her ponytail. Theo slowed next to her, moving his doctor’s coat to cover the dried blood on his scrubs. He checked the watch fastened on his wrist, the one fancy thing he owned, and looked back at Lydia.

“About four hours ago?” She laughed, giving him a pat on the shoulder before disappearing into a patient room. Theo walked down the remainder of the hallway, alone with his thoughts, which was never a good thing. Except for this time, he was thinking about Luna, and how he would give his right arm to have that little girl be his daughter. Then he started thinking about Liam, one of the only people he’s ever had romantic feelings for. His cute little smile, those adorable blue eyes, the feeling of his skin on Theo’s lips. Wait, what?

“Oh god,” Theo muttered, stopping in the middle of the hallway, just shy of three feet away from Luna’s room. “Oh god, oh dear, oh lord,  _ oh god. _ ” Theo had kissed Liam, kissed his cheek like it was something he did every day. What was he  _ thinking _ ? Kissing his patient’s cheek like that? Table the fact that they're friends in their own little way, but his  _ patient _ ! He was going to get sued, yep, that's totally what was going to happen. Tracy, the little snitch, was going to gossip to the other incompetent shitheads he was teaching and then another attending would overhear and then it gets to the chief of surgery. Chief of surgery… Doctor Geyer… Liam's stepdad. Theo was going to be fired, fired for being a hopeless romantic who got too comfortable in a situation with his son. Whom he is slowly falling in love with. It's not Theo’s fault that every time he's around Liam, he feels like he's known him for years. It's not his fault that it just feels so  _ right _ . 

“Um, Doctor Raeken, are you okay?” Doctor Kira Yukimura, an OB-GYN / Neonatal surgeon and decent friend of his, popped up beside him suddenly. Theo nearly screams from fear. 

“I kissed him!” He blurts instead, hoping that Kira will retreat to her awkwardly adorable personality and not ask questions. Ever since she started dating Scott, the local veterinarian in their friend circle, she'd gotten surer of herself. It was well deserved though, Kira was a surgical god. 

“You kissed who?” She asked, stepping in front of him, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Kira,” Theo sighed but she raised her eyebrows at him, not accusatory or sassily, just questioning. “I-uh-ugh it was Liam. I kissed him on the cheek when I was leaving, and it just went so  _ fast. _ ”

“Just like you adopting a five-year-old?” Kira stated, her question totally rhetorical. 

“How do you-”

“Theo! What are you thinking?” Kira cuts him off with a weak slap on the shoulder. Theo frowns at her, the gesture hurt. 

“I was thinking that I’d like to add one more person to the list of four people who tolerate my existence! Luna, she thinks I’m awesome and I think  _ she’s _ awesome. I was happier in the ten-something hours I spent with her than I have been in my entire life!” Theo said, hoping the social worker sitting in the room with Luna couldn’t hear him. It would be kind of embarrassing to have to explain why he only had four “friends” and two other “people” who liked him. Sort of. Kira was giving him a look he couldn’t decipher and it was making him anxious. 

“You’re going to be a parent? In your shoebox of an apartment where you barely have a kitchen or a living space?” Kira pressed, her argument totally logical. Theo really did live in a shoebox but after living in his car for nearly three years, he had gotten used to a small space and any bigger kind of freaked him out.   
“I do too have a kitchen!” Theo protested. “And I have a spare bedroom, there’s more than enough room. I’ll move when she gets older and I get married, or something.” 

“What if she’s allergic to cats?” Kira knew better than to bring his cat, Fitzgerald, into this. 

“I’ll give him to you, you love cats!” Theo smiled brightly at Kira, just as the social worker stepped out into the hallway, presumably to check if Theo was anywhere to be seen. 

“Scott is allergic,” Kira sighed. “You named your cat after an author, how can you be trusted with a child?” 

“F. Scott Fitzgerald is a literary  _ god _ ! I am going to be the best dad that you have ever seen, so in eleven years when I’m planning her sweet sixteen, you will  _ cry _ because of how awesome it will be.” Kira shot him a look of disappointment before she walked off in the opposite direction.

“I’m glad you think that way, Mr. Raeken,” The social worker, Daria, spoke from behind him. Theo, once again, jumped from fear and tried to hold in a scream. People really needed to stop sneaking up on him today, but since when was he so jumpy? 

“Please, call me Theo,” he said, turning around with a smile. Internally, he was freaking out. His future child’s redirection of custody was in this woman’s hands and he hoped she’d make the right choice. But what if Kira was right and his glorified shoebox wasn’t deemed sufficient for a five-year-old to live in? What if he wasn’t going to be a good parent? What if they just don’t think he’s good enough to be a parent? God, why didn’t he just run away from Kira the second he saw her? Lydia’s reassurance had been great, and Liam hadn’t asked any of the big questions, even though Theo could tell he wanted to. 

“Well, I have some positive news for you and Luna, if you’d just follow me,” Daria turned around, heading back into Luna’s hospital room. Theo followed after her, his vision seemingly brighter with Daria’s words and from seeing Luna.  _ Positive news?  _ That’s what he wanted to hear.  _ Luna? _ That’s what his brain wanted to see. She was sitting crisscrossed on the bed, the soccer ball they had used earlier was in her hands. She passed it from left hand to right hand, a bored and dazed expression on her face. In less than twenty-four hours, this entire girl’s life had changed. She had lost her mom, who was her only parent, was in the process of being adopted by a doctor she’d only known for several hours, and she was missing her big soccer game today. Theo suspected she only understood the last one, judging by the sadness she was putting off with the soccer ball in her hands. 

“Hey, Luna,” Theo greeted when he walked in the room. She dropped the soccer ball, ignoring the way it bounced off the floor and nearly back into her face, and she jumped off the bed, running to Theo and wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. 

“Theo!!” She shouted, hugging him so tightly, Theo could hardly breathe. For someone so young, she was surely a pretty big kid. Luna was tall for her age, or maybe Theo’s shortness was just catching up with him. She had curly black hair, chocolate colored eyes, and caramel colored skin. Theo smiled down at her, detaching her from his body and bending down to pick her up, balancing her on his hip. Daria smiled at the two of them, but it was a tense smile, unsettled. 

“What is it?” Theo asked, cautious to make his words sound positive so as not to worry Luna. Luna who was currently poking Theo’s cheek and giggling every time she touched him.

“Oh, no, don’t worry,” Daria assured him. “Nothing but the standard adoption process. Due to your situation, I feel it’s best to have everything expedited. That being said, I’m going to be interviewing you today and we’d like to assess your home today as well.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s totally okay.” Needless to say, when the social worker in charge of your adoption process starts to look even the least bit wary, you freak out. Theo was _beyond_ relieved to hear nothing was outrightly wrong. Until he remembered he didn’t have a bed, dresser, night table, _anything_ for Luna. Daria must have noticed the panic on his face because shortly after she was chuckling.   
“Luna’s soccer coach was her mother’s good friend and she’s going to their house now. They’ll bring all her stuff to your place tomorrow morning. For tonight, I’m going to take her back to her old house and stay with her there, you’re going to need this night’s rest.” Although eager, Theo was seriously surprised at how less panicked he felt hearing that he was at least getting tonight to be a complete loner before fatherhood commenced.  Maybe he should go out and buy a parenting book. Though he could go drink with his friends for probably the last time ever. Yeah, the latter was definitely happening. 

**#########**

“So we can call you Daddy Death now? Father Fatality?” Stiles joked or attempted to considering the “joke” only pulled a glare from Theo and exasperated sighs from the rest of their friends. 

“Just call make sure you’re calling me Daddy,” Theo deadpanned, concluding his statement with a prolonged sip of his beer while holding eye contact with Stiles. The skinny, sarcastic detective choked on air, thankfully saving everyone from being spit-sprayed. Again. Theo, Stiles, Lydia, Kira, and Scott were joined by Malia, the high school health teacher. They were crowded into a booth at the only bar that was open late enough to accommodate Theo, Kira, and Lydia’s whacked up schedules, and it was right in the center of downtown. A five-minute walk from his apartment, a five-minute drive from the hospital, it was a second home. Not for Theo to come and wallow in his sorrows with beer but because they made some fucking amazing nachos and come on, what’s more important? (Internally, Theo thinks beer is more important but nachos are a close second).

“You broke my husband,” Lydia says, poking a frozen Stiles in the shoulder. He blinks back to “life”, glares at Theo, then goes back to sipping his wine. Theo is hardly paying much attention to his friends, though, he was thinking about Liam. He was kind of always thinking about Liam but this time it felt different. Theo was trying to figure out his next move or if it was even legal for him to make said move. Doctor/patient relationships weren't ethical, right? The logical side of his brain that was rooting for Theo keeping his job said:  **no, don't ask your patient out** . The other side was telling him that if you like someone, going for it is seriously the  _ only _ logical option. 

“Theo, what's the deal with Liam Dunbar?” Scott asked, snapping Theo out of his thoughts. “Kira says you don't shut up about him.” 

“So not true!” Theo protested, hitting his beer down on the table for emphasis. 

“Objection,” Lydia butted in. “You go on and on about Liam all the time.” 

“Overruled, I don't go on and on about him!” Theo sometimes wondered why he even agreed to go out with these people, he's really only friends with Lydia and Scott. That's just because Lydia saw through how shitty Theo acted in the past and because Scott was the single most forgiving, kind person Theo knew. Kira was coming around to the idea of not hating Theo as much as she used to but everything was baby steps. Stiles had a tolerance for Theo, and Theo had a tolerance for Stiles. Malia straight-up hated Theo.

“Just admit you have a giant crush on him and we can move on,” Kira teased.

“I’m his doctor-”

“Kinky,” Stiles commented, followed by an over exaggerated wink. 

“Would you just can it?” Theo snapped. 

“Nobody is gonna can it until you admit you like Liam,” Lydia said. 

“Fine! Okay, yes, I really like Liam,” Theo groaned. “Can we  _ please _ just switch the topic? Like, Stiles, how's that B&E you're working on?” 

The conversation changed course after that, bouncing from how work was for everyone these days to what their weekend plans were going to be. Theo listened, commented when he found appropriate or web prompted (by Lydia, of course) but he was mainly up in his head. He was budgeting, planning dinner for the rest of the week, thinking about how the  _ fuck _ he was going to manage single parenting while being a doctor. People did it every day though, right? Surely Theo could manage it all and still have at least five minutes a day to sit and think about Liam? Theo had done well in his interview, had passed his home inspection aside from the fact that he did really live in a shoebox. Everything about the situation seemed entirely improbable. It was going to be a big adjustment, that much he knew. Except Theo didn't think about just  _ how _ astronomically different his life was about to be. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter makes me want to just get drunk and forget i ever wrote this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	3. Liam / Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> where this chapter ends is where i stopped writing the fic altogether 
> 
> so
> 
> i dont know

**_A week later_ **

A week had gone by since Liam had learned of Luna’s adoption and Theo had kept him updated on all things Luna nearly hourly. Their lunchtime dates hadn’t stopped, also they weren’t formally addressing them as dates either. That was all a matter of time, though. The week prior, after the cheek kissing incident (which, sadly, had not happened again), Liam had practically bullied Mason and Corey into helping him come up with a plan. Well, it would have been a plan provided that Liam had stuck to it. The Plan consisted of Liam _actually_ going to physical therapy for once but only on the terms that guaranteed Theo would accompany him to the session. Therefore, he’d be spending more time with Theo in a different setting that maybe would make Liam feel less like a bird with a broken wing. Although PT sessions wouldn’t be the sexiest place to try to make flirtatious conversation, it was better than Liam being hooked up to all types of tubes and feeling less sexy than ever. It _would_ have been foolproof had Liam gotten out of bed on any of Theo’s PT “house” calls. 

Just then, Theo appeared in the doorway of Liam’s hospital room, a wheelchair pushed halfway into the room. For the first time, Liam was seeing The out of his scrubs, and the black hoodie and jeans he had on were a pleasant change. The doctor wore smug little smirk like he finally knew he had Liam cornered. And Liam was seriously preparing his reason why he couldn’t go (yesterday’s had been phantom projectile vomiting) and he was seconds away from blurting it out when a little girl bounded into the room. She pushed the wheelchair out of her way with a dramatic shove and walked right up to the side of Liam’s bed. She inspected him for a moment and Liam shrunk into himself under the intense scrutiny put out by this little girl. Her curly black hair was pulled up into lopsided pigtails on the top of her head, the brown t-shirt and orange corduroy overalls she wore had red stains that Liam suspected were from pizza sauce, and her dark eyes were adorably captivating.  _ Ah, the famous Luna, _ Liam thought, eyes drifting up to look at Theo. Theo was watching the exchange between the two of them, his smirk having dissolved into a wide smile. 

“He plays lacrosse?” Luna asked, addressed to Theo but her narrowed eyes never leaving Liam. Her gaze felt like eyes in a courtroom when he was on the witness’ stand. How could a five-year-old reduce a twenty-four year old to a pile of apprehension for absolutely no reason? 

“He does,” Theo responded, stepping farther into the room and pushing the wheelchair with him. “It’s how he got all his injuries.” 

“It was supposed to be my  _ dazzling _ last season, but then I got hurt,” Liam explained to Luna who was looking at him doubtfully. She considered this for a moment before speaking, 

“Well, that was stupid.” Liam barked out an unexpected laugh at the dry tone of the little girl, laughing even harder at the embarrassed expression Theo now wore. 

“Luna! Remember, we’re trying to stop saying mean words like that.” Theo sighed, content with the apologetic look Luna turned around to give him. “Anyway, Liam we’re here to take you to physical therapy and this time you aren’t going to lie about why you can’t go. We’re going, all three of us.” There was no arguing with a statement like that so while Theo busied himself with detaching Liam from all the hospital stuff, Liam turned to Luna. 

“ _ It  _ was _ pretty stupid, _ ” he whispered and Luna giggled. In light of what he said, and besides trying to make this kid like him, Liam had been wallowing in self-pity all week. He missed his apartment that he shared with Mason and Corey, he missed taking real showers, he missed good food, and most of all, he missed holding a lacrosse stick in his hands. The hopelessness he felt was why he was so reluctant to go to PT, it was just a reminder of what he couldn't have. Lacrosse was over. He wasn't going to play again this season, considering recovery time and how the season wasn’t nearly as long as he wished it was. Sure he could sign up as a teacher for kid’s lacrosse, or go back to his high school and coach there, but nothing would be the same as playing it. 

“Liam?” Theo placed a hand on his shoulder, jolting Liam back into the present. “Ready?” Liam nodded, allowing Theo to help him out of his hospital bed and into the wheelchair. Theo pushed the chair out of the room while Luna skipped ahead of them (literally, skipping), turning around once they got to the closest elevator on the floor. 

“We’re going upstairs right?” Luna asked Theo. Liam craned his neck to look up at Theo when his response seemed delayed. The doctor’s expression was contemplative, he was chewing his bottom lip and dragging his eyes from Liam to Luna to the elevator. 

“No,” he decides on. “Go ahead and press the down button, Luna. I have a surprise.” 

 

Twenty-seven minutes later, Liam and Luna have been abandoned in the courtyard of the hospital, engaged in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. Neither of them knew where Theo went, only left with his departing words of “I’ll be back in ten.” It went without saying that it had been well over ten minutes since Theo zayn’d out of there. Liam was attempting to relax to the best of his abilities in the wheelchair which was parked at the head of a picnic table while Luna was sat atop the table, her legs crisscrossed. 

“You’re not very good at this game,” Luna commented, throwing scissors against Liam’s paper. He scoffed, a little more offended than he thought he should have been. 

“I haven’t played in a while, I’m a little rusty,” Liam offered a lame excuse, his eyes shifting to the door they had come through to get here.  _ Where was Theo?  _

“What does that mean?” Luna asked, cocking her head to the side. “ _ Rock, paper, scissors. _ ” Liam threw scissors and Luna threw a rock, damn this kid was good. They’d played over ten rounds of best two out of three and Luna had won almost every time. 

“Rusty?” Liam asked and Luna nodded. “It means when you haven’t done something for a long time and then when you come back to it, you’re not as good.” 

“Were you rusty at lacrosse the last time you played? Is that why you got hurt?” The little girl wonders, throwing a paper against Liam’s rock. 

“No, I practice all the time,” Liam chuckled, sounding and feeling oddly defensive. 

“Well, I practice soccer  _ all the time _ and I’ve never gotten hurt,” Luna brags with a smug smile that looks too much like Theo’s that for a second, Liam forgets Theo’s only had custody of her for a week. Now that he thought about it, Theo talked non-stop about Luna and had admitted to sacrificing “what little social life” he had in favor of watching cartoons with Luna. It seemed apparent that all Theo did now, besides fix bones, was spend time with Luna. He spoke of soccer games on nights he wasn’t working, struggling to figure out how to deal with curly hair, and assisting Luna with her homework last minute in the mornings. 

“It’s all about having control of yourself,” Liam said. “That’s how you don’t get hurt.” 

“Is lacrosse fun?” Luna asks, sighing heavily and dramatically changing positions so she’s lying across the picnic table, her legs dangling off the sides. Liam was thankful she was done with playing the freaking game, he found he was getting too competitive for it to be normal. Except Liam was wrong and as the reigning RPS queen, Luna could play in any position. She jabbed her finger into Liam’s good arm when he didn’t throw anything, frowning at him. 

“Tons of fun, it’s my favorite thing.”

“ _ Obviously _ , you’ve never played soccer then,” Luna sassed, causing Liam to laugh. 

“I played soccer for all of elementary school and then my step-dad taught me how to play lacrosse.”  _ Rock, paper, scissors _ . 

“I  _ think _ I had a step-dad, he was awful,” Luna mutters to herself more than to Liam. Liam stops short, mentally, what did Luna mean by that? Before he can ask, Luna has moved on.“Do you like your step-dad?”

“I love him, he’s basically my real dad at this point,” Liam tells her, shaking his head at how easy it is to talk to this kid. He can't stop thinking about what she said though. Thinks she had a stepdad? According to Theo, Luna’s mother was the only person legally responsible for her. 

“Liam, can I tell you something?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do i continue? or like nO? like 
> 
> what????

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to post all of what i have and i may or may not continue it but idfk 
> 
> thanks for reading!!


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